Defining Features

by Lisa R. CohenFor the last two years, I’ve been in and out of prison. I’m out now, and have something to show for it – a documentary film I directed and produced called “Serving Life” that will premiere on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) on July 28. I’ll be writing about it in my next few blogs. It’s been two years in the making, and I’m mighty proud of our small production team’s heroic efforts. You can watch the promo for it here. The film, executive...

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Vicious Streak of Casey Anthony Defense Team

by Diane FanningDefense attorney Jose Baez displayed a vicious streak of cruelty in the courtroom Wednesday during the Casey Anthony trial. He seemed to suppress a bubble of diabolical glee as he tried to trip up his client's father. The direct examination brought to mind someone stabbing pin after pin into a voodoo doll representing his enemy.Baez mocked George's suicide attempt, ridiculed his emotional responses to Caylee's disappearance and...

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Trials: Truth, Expectation and Reality

by Holly HughesAs much of the country watches transfixed, the Casey Anthony trial lumbers on. For a host of reasons, this trial has caught the attention of viewers who wouldn’t normally take the time to get caught up in these very public high profile cases. As a legal commentator, I have been privileged to cover almost every day of this spectacle for one program or another. As I watch it unfold, I am struck once again by the reality that at the...

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Medical Marijuana: The Voters Have Spoken

by Robin SaxThe stories are heartbreaking. Young mothers fighting to survive the ravages of breast cancer and the nausea of chemotherapy; seniors struggling with the tremors of Multiple Sclerosis. Illness has touched all of our lives in one form or another. Whether it is cancer, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease, or even Alzheimer’s, we have all seen people live in pain. I am not talking about minor “ouchies”–this is chronic pain: debilitating headaches,...

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Does She or Doesn't She Want to Testify?

by Anne BremnerI, for one, think Casey Anthony wants to testify. But should she?Casey is the decider, not her defense team. Many people believe that the decision for a client to testify is solely the lawyer's prerogative. Yet, legally, the decision rests with the client, taken under the lawyer's advisement. If the lawyer knows the client will lie willfully on the stand, however, the lawyer must in-camera inform the court and may have to...

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We Need A New Drug Policy

by Diane DimondForty years ago this month President Richard Nixon declared his "War on Drugs." Now, four decades later can we honestly say we’ve got a handle on the problem?No, of course we can’t. The drug scourge continues with its ever increasing criminality and murderous violence. It heaps economic hardships on families, communities and prison systems. Our decades' long drug war gives off the stinking scent of failure and the undeniable...

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Is Confession Real in Shooting of Rapper Tupac?

Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemondby Cathy ScottSomething stinks in River City, namely the bold words of a convict named Dexter Isaac who, on the eve of what would have been rapper Tupac Shakur’s 40th birthday, “confessed” to shooting Tupac in November 1994 during a grab-and-run armed robbery at a recording studio in New York City.Tupac survived that shooting. With him that winter night was rapper Randy “Stretch” Walker, who a year later was shot and killed...

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Wheels of Justice Turn Slowly: Update on Anthony Graves

by Rachel DavisEditor, Women in Crime InkThe story of Anthony Graves, an innocent man who spent 18 years in prison for murders he did not commit, has been featured many times on Women in Crime Ink by defense attorney and regular contributor Katherine Scardino. In 1994, Anthony Graves was wrongfully convicted of capital murder in a small Texas town.Eighteen long years later, the charges against him were dismissed and he was released as a free...

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It Really Was Weiner’s Weiner

by Katherine ScardinoIn May I wrote about the seemingly overload of male "pigs” - defined as men who had too much power and not enough common sense. I asked you at the end of that post in Women in Crime to “stay tuned. I’m sure there’s more!” And, sure enough, along comes this weirdo Congressman from New York, Anthony Weiner. I admit that I did look at the tweeted photo of his covered weiner and was totally unimpressed. But, what makes Mr. Weiner...

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The Many Innocent Victims of Incest

by Dr. Michelle Golland Susan Smith placed her young children in a car and let it roll into a lake in 1994. She hid the facts, blamed someone else and was later found guilty and is currently serving a prison sentence. Casey Anthony is currently on trial for the disappearance and subsequent death of her two -year old daughter Caylee. Immediately after her daughter’s disappearance, Casey hid the facts and blamed someone else. Both women claim to have...

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When Innocence Is Not Enough

Julie and Joelby Diane FanningIf your child were murdered and you were charged with committing that homicide but you knew you were not the perpetrator, how do you cope with knowing that your innocence simply was not enough to pull you out of the vortex of a criminal justice system operating in an alternative reality?Can you imagine anything worse ever happening to a parent?  I can't.It is what happened to Julie Rea after the murder of her ten-year-old...

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